New funding to transform food security research

The University of Leeds will be driving innovation in food security after a new multi-million pound research grant was awarded by government. Initial funding of £16m will be allocated to the N8 Research Partnership , which brings together universities across the North of England to collaborate on priority research. The government has awarded £8m towards the project, to be matched equally by each of the N8 universities (Durham, Lancaster, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield and York). With a growing global population, providing access to enough affordable, safe and nutritious food is seen as one of the greatest challenges to society, and there is an overriding need to ensure food production is both sustainable and resilient. The research programme will examine three key areas of concern in food security - sustainable food production, resilient food supply chains, and the need for improved nutrition and greater understanding of consumer behaviour. The aim for the N8 is to transform food security research in the UK and create a world-leading collaboration on Agri-Food Resilience within 10 years. Professor Tim Benton from the University of Leeds, who is the UK’s Global Food Security Programme Champion , explained: “Put simply, agri-food is the business of producing food, and we need to improve how we generate enough safe and nutritious food, so that it is capable of being maintained socially, environmentally and economically.